Product Description

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Christians should have the answers, shouldn't they?

Depression affects many people both personally and through the ones we love. Here Zack Eswine draws from C.H Spurgeon, 'the Prince of Preachers' experience to encourage us. What Spurgeon found in his darkness can serve as a light in our own darkness. Zack Eskwine brings you here, not a self-help guide, rather 'a handwritten note of one who wishes you well.'

Publisher's Description

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Christians should have the answers, shouldn't they? Depression affects many people both personally and through the ones we love. Here Zack Eswine draws from C.H Spurgeon, 'the Prince of Preachers' experience to encourage us. What Spurgeon found in his darkness can serve as a light in our own darkness. Zack Eskwine brings you here, not a self-help guide, rather 'a handwritten note of one who wishes you well.'

Author Bio

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Zack Eswine is the Senior Pastor at the Riverside Church, St Louis, Missouri. He previously served as Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Covenant Theological Seminary, St Louis, Missouri. A list of his writings can be found at zackeswine.com or on his blog at preachingbarefoot.com.

Endorsements

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...Spurgeon from early years to final days found dark distress ever hovering on the edges of his mind and sometimes launching an all out assault on his very being. How he managed all this, by the grace of God, both for himself and for others, drives both the gripping content and the riveting literary style of Zack Eswine in Spurgeon's Sorrows.
-Tom Nettles,
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

The river of life often flows through sloughs of despond. Charles Spurgeon knew that well... Ditto Zack Eswine in this unusual, refreshing, sensible book... Read it, and take it to heart.
-David Powlison,
CCEF Executive Director, Senior Editor, Journal of Biblical Counseling

Zack Eswine is a pastor with the mind of a scholar and the heart of a poet. His wisdom gleaned from Charles Spurgeon's struggle with depression is theologically profound and pastorally lucid.
-Jason Byassee,
Boone United Methodist Church, Boone, North Carolina

Zack Eswine, like Spurgeon, a preacher, pastor, and no stranger to suffering... there is much encouragement, comfort and practical help to be found in this rich and poetic treasure.
-Dr. Richard Winter,
Director of Counseling at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri

Editorial Reviews

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Zack Eswine, like Spurgeon, a preacher, pastor, and no stranger to suffering... there is much encouragement, comfort and practical help to be found in this rich and poetic treasure.

Zack Eswine is a pastor with the mind of a scholar and the heart of a poet. His wisdom gleaned from Charles Spurgeon's struggle with depression is theologically profound and pastorally lucid.

What a comfort to know that a great man was very human, a "man of like passions." The grace that came through his preaching also lifted his soul. It is a comfort to be reminded of that great grace.

Zack Eswine's beautifully crafted Spurgeon's Sorrows is poetry for the soul. Weaving Spurgeon's acquaintance with depression with his own, Zack gives language to the honest struggle of the weary. He kindly invites sufferers, and their fellow sojourners, to breathe what is true, offering grace-filled help and real hope. An exquisite book.

I highly recommend this book for all believers. The wisdom examined by Eswine from the pen of Charles Spurgeon regarding depression is outstanding and will greatly help those suffering from this issue to begin to grab hold of Jesus who suffered as we did, even to the point of death on a cross. I know I learned much about depression and how to help those suffering from this pain in their life. Look to the man of sorrows for he cares for you. That was the approach Spurgeon took and it is the correct one.

This book was the best book I have ever read on depression. If you know anyone or you yourself struggle with depression, this book is such an incredible encouragement. It is well worth the time. Even if you have never met anyone who struggles with depression, this book is great for your library because you will probably know a depressed person at some time.

This book was was timely for me. I cried as I read through it because it was such balm to my weary soul. I highlighted so many things that were used to heal my heart in ways I desperately needed. I cannot recommend a book more highly.

I like Zack Eswine's writing.In Spurgeon's Sorrows Eswine sensitively considers the experience of depression, using Charles Spurgeon's experiences and writings as a reference point. Such are the variations in depression I'm loathe to generalise or make it look like there are universal treatments that will bring relief. It's not a long book, but it is sensitive and constructive

In an age of quick answers Spurgeon speaks beyond the grave with heart-felt understanding and solace. Those who know the pain of such suffering find in these pages a level of succour for the soul which both normalizes and gives hope...a rare insight into the experience of a ubiquitous problem.

Eswine's work demonstrates the value of reading biographies, old books, and sermons. Interacting with godly men and women from church history can be a vital aid to Christian maturity. He handles Spurgeon carefully, yet provocatively at points, and produces a volume that promises to help pastors and laypeople confront the sad terror of the dark night of the soul.

You can almost taste Spurgeon's tears in this book... Eswine's gentle, poetic, unmasking of Spurgeon's inner turmoil may become a soothing balm for your soul. It may not heal you, but a healthy empathy emerges when you read about the struggles of a man who has walked down the same dark alleys you stumble along, and somehow found God in the valley of despair. If you don't struggle with depression yourself, it will help you love those who do!

The words 'realistic hope' are in the subtitle, and that is exactly what this book offers. The writing style is winsome and the way he frames Spurgeon's quotes almost make it sound as if the great man was writing last week.

There are few men I trust more to write a book on depression than Zack Eswine. His tears have freed me to embrace my tears, and his story of heartache has taken me further into my own. So Zack hasn't merely written a book chronicling Spurgeon's often debilitating struggles with melancholy and depression; he has given us a grace-full en ramp to understand our sorrows, and an incredibly practical guide for caring for heart-pained friends God places in our lives. I cannot wait to buy many copies of this book to give to strugglers and care-givers alike.

The river of life often flows through sloughs of despond. Charles Spurgeon knew that well... Ditto Zack Eswine in this unusual, refreshing, sensible book... Read it, and take it to heart.

For those struggling with depression and assuming they are confined to the sidelines because of their mental health, Spurgeon's example should serve as a great encouragement. Spurgeon knew what to do when the lights were on. And after awhile he knew how to take time off in the midst of darkness. We've much to learn here.

Eswine's book is poetic and mercifully short. There are sentences and paragraphs throughout that are life-giving. The writing is compelling and the type of language which resonates with one in the pit. To this end I pray that many who are battling depression will read this book and hold onto these tiny morsels.

Most Christian books on depression depress me. This book is a very rare and precious gift of encouragement and help. In it two godly pastor-scholars open up their lives to us and share their hearts. Both have suffered profoundly and both have known seasons of deep despair and darkness. Together they bring us God's word, helping us wrestle with the scary fact that our Heavenly Father loves us dearly and sometimes calls us to lifelong struggles with dark despair. I wish I could give this book to everyone I have ever counselled or ever will counsel. It gives us a life-changing, gospel-saturated perspective on this very prevalent, painful, and confusing problem.

...Spurgeon from early years to final days found dark distress ever hovering on the edges of his mind and sometimes launching an all out assault on his very being. How he managed all this, by the grace of God, both for himself and for others, drives both the gripping content and the riveting literary style of Zack Eswine in Spurgeon's Sorrows.

...a unique and timely volume from the pen of Zack Eswine, pulls from the works of Charles Spurgeon his words on a subject that can no longer be ignored because of its sweeping impact on believers and all of Christendom. Depression has moved beyond a series of bad days and seems to grip the hearts of many who claim the name and power of Christ just as did the great Victorian preacher... worthy of a read, especially by pastors and counselors and by any who suffer from the throes of despair.

Eswine's writing about depression is some of the most accessible-dare I say beautiful-that I have read... I hope many Christians will read, learn from, and treasure the hope celebrated in this book. It is a tenderly written book from the heart of one who knows that "the sorrowing have a Savior."

I highly recommend this book. It will help Christians at every stage of their Christian life to understand how to help those who often suffer in silence with depression and discouragement. This book will also help those who do struggle with discouragement and depression with the gospel. This is a must read book for pastors, counselors, biblical counselors to learn how to walk with those who struggle with discouragement and depression. This excellent book will bring much encouragement, comfort, and practical help to strugglers and ministers alike

...Poetic, poignant, and platitude-free, this shimmering treasure of a book may literally save your life or the life of someone you love.

Spurgeon's Sorrows is biography meets pastoral exhortation. In taking us through the suffering of CH Spurgeon, Eswine encourages the reader to heed the words and life of this hero of the faith. Pastors deal with enormous emotional struggles by bearing the burdens of an entire flock and standing on the frontline of spiritual warfare. Couple that with personal tragedy and a predisposed temperament towards melancholy and the struggle grows exponentially. Enter Charles Spurgeon.

Eswine uses the events of Spurgeon's life and ministry to help the reader try to understand depression, to help those with depression, and to cope with it ourselves. This book is full of wisdom and grace and will serve the Church well. It is short and easy to read and deserves a broad audience. Spurgeon's Sorrows bears the subtitle of "Realistic Hope for those who Suffer from Depression." It offers that and so much more.